Nothing can exceed the delightful
sensation of the motion; and the skill of the rowers in swiftly
turning, and avoiding contact with the myriads of caiques is
astonishing. My next scrap is about the Hellespont,[4] situated
between the Sea of Marmora and the Archipelago: it is broader at the
mouth than at any other part; about half-way up, the width is not
more than a mile, and the effect is more like a superb river than a
strait; its length of forty-three miles should also give it a better
claim to the title of a river. In the year 1810, on the 10th of May,
Lord Byron accompanied by a friend, a lieutenant on board the
'Salsette,' swam across the Hellespont, from Abydos to Sestos, a
distance of four miles; but this was more than the breadth of the
stream, and caused principally by the rapidity of the current, which
continually carried them out of the way, the stream at this
particular place being only a mile in width. It was here also that
Leander is reported to have swam every night in the depth of winter,
to meet his beloved Hero; and, alas! for both, swam once too often."
[Footnote 3: More properly written "diwaun."]
[Footnote 4: Thus named from Helle, who, according to poetical
tradition, perished in these waters, and from Pontus, the Greek word
for sea.]
MR. WILTON. "Before we sail out of the Mediterranean, I wish to
mention the singular loss of the 'Mentor,' a vessel belonging to
Lord Elgin, the collector of the Athenian marbles, now called by his
name, and to be seen in the British Museum.
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